You are my only way out
by mayloc
Summary: Frank needs a way out and Karen has an idea.


**Author's note:** I love Kastle (they are my new obsession lol) and ep.10 was so great I'm still not over it. This is basically Karen convincing Frank about the hostage trick to get to the elevator, because we all know it was totally her idea ;) Hope you enjoy it :)

"Hey."

Frank turned around to face Karen, his whole body aching. Her voice was somehow muffled, suddenly replaced with a buzzing inside his head caused by the explosion. She was looking at the door, her hand pointing at one ear that it must be hurting too, her head leaning toward the sound that was sneaking through. Even if his own ears were almost screaming, he could hear the distant radio chatter. Words like _security_ or _perimeter_ began to seep over the noise. It took him a moment to process their meaning. Security forces were being strategically placed right behind that door at that very moment.

 _Fuck._

"Well, that was fast."

Frank almost burst a laugh, his eyes closed for a moment, overwhelmed with exhaustion.

"We need a plan, Frank."

He looked back at Karen. She was covered in dust and breathing hard, her body trembling slightly, scratches bleeding on his face, and yet… _we_.

"The plan is you'll wait here for the FBI to find you, okay? You're done with the shooting and the bombing for today."

Karen snorted her disapproval while stepping towards him.

"What about you?"

"I'll manage my way to the elevator."

He knew his words sounded confident enough, even if he didn't feel that way. Karen frowned.

"Right."

She was probably thinking _cocky_. She was probably right.

"What about a plan that don't get you killed in the process, Frank? Look at you. There's no way you can pass through them in _your condition_."

Frank shrugged. Mostly he shrugged the shoulder that was still responding anyway. His right arm was hanging on his side as a dead weight. The pain he felt in that part of his body was being replaced by some kind of distant ticking and he needed to move his fingers from time to time to wake them up. He knew he wasn't wearing a convincing look for a heroic escape. The dried blood that was covering his skin from his head's wound was itching, the wound itself was burning like hell and he was feeling kind of dizzy.

"Then you'll have to wish me some luck, miss Page."

He smirked at her, because not smirking at her concern at that very moment was impossible for some reason.

"Screw that. You barely survived today, Frank. _Twice_. You are running out of luck."

 _We. We barely survived_. It had been really close for her in that hotel room to begin with, even if she was, apparently, ignoring that fact, and that thought brought him a lump to his dry throat. Karen took a deep breath while looking at him with those smart eyes, and he knew she had an idea before she could say it out loud.

"You need a hostage."

His jaw dropped. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear.

"Wha…? _What?_ No. Absolutely _not_."

Suddenly, the sound of Brett's voice came loud and clear through the door. He was giving the first warning to whoever was listening. They were surrounded. No scape possible. No way out. Better to give up and come out with their hands up. It was over.

 _Bullshit._

He needed to think fast.

"Frank…"

"No."

"Just take the gun and let's do it."

"No."

"Take the damn gun."

"No!"

"It's the only way!"

"I won't put you in any more danger, Karen!"

They stopped their mutual yelling just to catch their breaths. Karen's voice was already breaking apart. She looked exhausted.

"Do you have a better plan?"

He didn't, unfortunately. Lewis had been stubborn enough and they have wasted so much time in the process, but he would find a way. He just needed a moment.

"Karen…"

" _Don't_."

She refused to give him any other chance to protest. Before Frank could speak again, she was already shrugging any other suggestion he could have off.

"We don't have time for this, Frank. There's no other way to get you out _alive_. You know I'm right!"

Brett's second warning came, and the discussion was over. They were running out of patience out there. Karen didn't hesitate any other second.

"Take the damn gun, Castle, and get ready."

She handed him the weapon, and Frank growled at the world in general while finally taking it. He was a pig-headed asshole most of the time, but he could recognize a fight he couldn't win.

"I swear to god Karen, you are the most stubborn person I've ever known."

Karen smiled slightly at him until she caught his hand in the process of removing the magazine from the gun.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready, miss Page."

Karen was looking at him, genuinely surprised. The magazine was already safe inside of one of his trousers' pockets.

"You can't step out there with a useless gun, Frank! That's crazy!"

And there it was again. Frank noticed one more time thatcurious tendency of hers to misuse the pronouns. _You_. _You_ and not _we_ when she was about to be his fucking living bulletproof vest.

"Using you as a shield is crazy enough, Karen. This is out of discussion."

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to stay as calm as possible. It wasn't working.

"But what if anything goes wrong and you need to use it?"

"Goddamn it, Karen! If anything goes wrong and one of those kids shoot me, my fingers won't slip in a goddamn loaded gun that's pointed to your head!"

 _What if?_ Those words scared the shit out of him. There were lots of cops waiting behind that door, a bomb had been detonated a couple of minutes ago and he was a wanted criminal recently rise from the dead. _Everything_ could go wrong.

"Frank…"

"I said out of _fucking_ discussion."

They heard Brett's third warning and Frank knew that there won't be any more chances. They have to move now. Karen looked at him inquisitively for a second until she decided to give up at last, sighing.

"Fine."

She stepped up closer, moving beside him.

"And just to be clear, you are not using me as a shield, Frank Castle. I volunteer."

Frank couldn't help but smiled at her once again.

"Yes, ma'am."

Karen returned the smile before turning around to let him adjust the position of their bodies. Frank needed to point the gun up pressed against her chest to make sure anyone could see the empty magazine. His right arm was useless and he couldn't trust in his own strength to hold her right with the stiffness that was running through his muscles, so he would have to use some extra force to make their walk steady enough. He knew he will hurt her and he hated it.

"I'll have to press hard. Sorry."

She didn't seem to care.

"It's alright. We can do it."

 _We_. Karen Page and her fucking pronouns squeezing his chest hard one more time. She tilted his head to the left so she could look at him and her hair caressed his cheek.

"You know I've spent the last few hours running around grabbed by a traumatized kid with a bomb. This is actually an improvement."

She smiled at him and Frank felt even more impressed by her strength, if that was possible. When he pressed his chest against her back while placing his left arm around her, he got caught off guard by the warmth of her touch. Just as the day she hugged him. They stayed that way for a moment, sharing the weight of their bodies that were almost consumed by exhaustion, their quick heartbeats mixing, until Karen broke the spell.

"You ready?"

Frank nodded, trying to recover from the feeling.

 _Focus you idiot._

"Let's get out of here."

He placed the gun against her chin carefully at first, all the pain in his body suddenly reactivated as she opened the door and he had to press hard to get balanced.

They started moving slowly towards the hall.


End file.
